29 Homes in 21 Cities (revised)

See the blog for an illumination


We worked it out
I come from Eskilstuna where the kiosks come up
I come from Alexandria where the asphalt was invented
I come from Teaneck with its sharks in quicksand
I come from Feasterville so you have no upper upper hand

We called it out
I come from Bergenfield where the floods did come
I come from New Milford where no children smile
I come from River Vale with its bushes of baseball bats
I come from Doylestown so you best not relax

We tore it up
I come from Eden Prairie where the warmth is palatable
I come from Eden Prairie again where the earth is flat
I come from Brea with its music 'til four in the morning
I come from Minneapolis where swift lifts make for soft pulls

We made it shiny
I come from Pomona so all your threats are empty, empty
I come from Pasadena where the ping-pong is dusty
I come from Monrovia where hearts are down and dusky
I come from Newbury Park with its two exits

We pulled it back
I come from North Hollywood so I know about coming from
I come from North Hollywood again and its ski lodge aspirations
I come from Ventura where the U-Hauls skulk
I come from Amherst where on the twelfth day we rise

We cleaned clocks
I come from Eden Prairie again so you best believe I linger
I come from Eden Prairie again with its misreading of the future
I come from Minneapolis again with its disappeared
I come from Minneapolis again with its so you never stood a chance

We pushed it out
I come from Minneapolis again with its owned not rented
I come from Santa Monica where nothing bad ever happens
I come from Santa Monica again where the rain is unending
I come from Hollywood where the helicopters haunt me

We rattle easily, no
I come from Long Beach so you know why we do what we do when we do what we do

We broke it down
We made a run
We wait it out
We have it all
I...

Written October 5 and October 27, 2009

Devil's Treason

I'm nothing if not timely
With my timeless salutations
That get you right there
And split your brain halves, like yolk from white
Uneven, odd colors, and is that a fable book?
That you hold in your hand like a cannibal's meal hand?
Unknown resister to reason
Guess what, that's the devil's very treason

October 27, 2009

Unincorporated East Lost Angeles #3

She talks about that one dead end
As if it's hallowed ground and not the edge of town
Where the city stops so the pavement stops
She thinks there's buried bones there
She may be right but no one's digging any time soon

The stories she tells
As the excitement swells and sweats
They're as true as a shy man's wedding vows
All bent toward great heights
Invented at the moment
Aroused and uninvited
She calls cameras
She stalls camera crews
The regional news
Gives her a segment

I think of that parking lot
As hope unearthed
Dashed and cursed
Speed bumps 'til the fence and forest
So dense. So warm. So porous
I wish we had more space and time
Fewer power cords, fewer shoes
Cotten swabs and rotten jobs
A trade off, one and not the other
Blood angel, two mothers
No fathers, a galaxy of pixelations
October 23, 2009

Double Mono

Stretch your back
Kick your shoes off
There's a soft spot
On the floor, over there, in the low blocks
Evermore, tide to shore, on the black rocks

He calls her absurd, a martyr's marking time
Scrolling up and down and all around the quiet town
The one with the half-good reputation
For handsome girls with shadow puppet shapes

The furnaces are big and brown
The steam engines head uphill, crosstown
Halos don't appear because halos don't exist
Fiery tempers make the feeblest fists

Close your eyes
Hold your hands out
Fold the flaps in
Now your hands go back out
You never closed your eyes

October 9, 2009

28 Homes in 21 Cities

We worked it out
I come from Eskilstuna where the kiosks come up
I come from Alexandria where the asphalt was invented
I come from Teaneck with its sharks in quicksand
I come from Feasterville so you have no upper upper hand

We called it out
I come from Bergenfield where the floods did come
I come from New Milford where no children smile
I come from River Vale with its bushes of baseball bats
I come from Doylestown so you best not relax

We tore it up
I come from Eden Prairie where the warmth is palatable
I come from Brea with its music 'til four in the morning
I come from Minneapolis where swift lifts make for soft pulls
I come from Pomona so all your threats are empty, empty, empty

We made it shiny
I come from Pasadena where the blood boils
I come from Monrovia where the hillside strangles
I come from Newbury Park with its two exits
I come from North Hollywood so I know about coming from

We pulled it back
I come from North Hollywood again with its two stories up
I come from Ventura where the U-Hauls skulk
I come from Amherst where on the twelfth day we rise
I come from Eden Prairie again so you best believe I linger

We cleaned clocks
I come from Eden Prairie again with its misreading of the future
I come from Minneapolis again with its disappeared
I come from Minneapolis again with its coffeehouse crushes
I come from Minneapolis again so you never stood a chance

We pushed it out
I come from Santa Monica where nothing bad ever happens
I come from Santa Monica again where the rain is unending
I come from Hollywood where the helicopters haunt me
I come from Long Beach so you know why we do what we do when we do what we do

We broke it down
I...

We made a run
I...

We wait it out
I...

We have it all
I...

Written October 5, 2009

Day 16,096

I'm not done trying to save my self
To save face, to get brave, to limit my range of motion
From high hills to blue ocean
In between, I'm stark and lean

I've been told I'm old and mean and sweet and young
But there are complicated locks and handles
That fool even the trickiest vandals
Those floating legends we held in high esteem
She's the color of a candida dream
He's keeps honor in his extra-large sleeve
Neither knows it but they're helpless in the sun

I'm so so sick of trying to save my soul
Selling out, moving out; besides it's ill-defined
Soul is body, mind is soul
Mind and body are one, I'm fat and well-fed

I was reminded yet again of my tendencies and tricks
Selfish acts that look selfless to the masses
Who cover their eyes with knockoff sunglasses
I'm all set to tell the truth if it's what you need
Truth is, the truth is what we believe we believe
Love is what we think of when we kneel down and grieve
Simple steps lead to complicated kicks

It's not over, this saving of myself
It comes down to quiet sleep and slip-sliding laughter
From the one-way one-lane in the seaside city of today
To a long long time ago, the four-lane
Leisure ride through Pennsylvania Dutch, just rolling along

Written October 5, 2009